Pinging????

Doesnt sound like spark knock to me. At only 10 degrees of advance especially, which is stock advance. Do you hear it at idle if you rev it or anything out of gear? Spark knocks is most noticeable under load...I hear the best test is if you have a manual, put it in 5th gear and floor the pedal and listen for it. But you have an automatic, so well, I just go in as far as I can on the pedal in overdrive without hitting the kickdown.

might be a slight exhaust leak. or a valve ticking...but you would hear that at idle.

hmm....weird....not really sure what that would be. someone has to know how to help this guy....come on fellas

hello, The Shape. well you know im not much of an AOD guy, but i will share what i have observed. i just did some work on a chevy S-10 (4.3L, auto). it was pinging, so i made the timing like me: retarded a little. then it was good to go.

best check i have found: go find a decent hill. give it throttle as you go up. if it wont shift due to the hill, floor it and then let off the gas a lot - it will shift. then give it moderate gas (not enough to shift). it should be lugging since you are on a grade. should ping like crazy.

other things i think i know: pinging is like no real mechanical malady (header tick, valve tick, etc). it is random sharp rocks-in-a-glass like noises. other stuff is more methodical and muted. as OLT and ECU stated correctly, header leaks and valve train tick are very and often most easily noticable at idle. not so for you.

another thing: as i recall, most cars run lean at part throttle. so it makes sense that this is when you see the problem. now we have to accomodate that (much easier on EFI than carbs).

i might try backing timing off a couple of degrees and see if it goes away. you can have an increased compression ratio from things like carbon build up in the chambers or bad plug heat range (i know the latter is not true for you, just stating it). higher compression is more likely to cause detonation.

but if you back timing off and problem is gone, then you know.

i know you get hot down there - is it hot yet? i keep timing at 14* till we hit about 95* ambient temps. then i back off to 12*. all cars like different timing but the idea is the same. i know you know that, but it segues into another observation. i had detonation last summer. 92 octane did nothing, as you have experienced. and with gas prices as they are, we cant afford it (over 2 bucks a gallon here). but back timing off two degrees and good to go.

did you go to thicker oil on the last change? i know you were kickin the idea around. if you did, i would not be worried about valve train noises. if not, how is your pressure?

well, i think i have filled my space allowance. hope some of this made sense.

Pinging is caused by a number of things:
1.) Hot spots in the combustion chamber such as carbon deposits from high mileage or excessive oil consumption.
2.) Wrong heat range on the plugs.
3.) Too much initial spark advance.
4.) Lean fuel mixture.
Lean fuel mixture breaks out into several sub categories:
A. Vacuum leaks
B. Air entering the intake without passing through the MAF
C. Failure of the MAF, BAP/MAP (Baro or Manifold Air Pressure, same sensor, different name), ACT (air charge temp), or ECT (engine coolant temp). These should set a code in the computer.
D. Leaking exhaust gases from EGR valve at WOT.
E. Clogged fuel injectors.
F. Fuel injector wiring problems causing injector not to deliver rated flow.
5.) Computer problems: (computer problems are not common like sensor problems)
A. ROM has bad data in fuel or timing table. This should also set a code in the computer.
B. Failure of one or more of the computer's driver transistors for the fuel injectors. No code set on this one.

Have you dumped out the codes?
Here's the link to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire and the check engine light. I’ve used it for years, and it works great.
See http://www.batauto.com/Ford/
OR
See http://www.dalidesign.com/hbook/eectest.html for more descriptive help
OR
See http://www.mustangworks.com/article...c-iv_codes.html

my exhaust sounds like it has bbs rolling around in there at idle.